Cancellation of the $764m Baghdad International Airport redevelopment contract over corruption concerns (2026)

In October 2025, under then-Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's government, Iraq awarded a 25-year, $764m build-operate-transfer contract to redevelop and expand Baghdad International Airport to a consortium of Luxembourg-based Corporación América Airports (CAAP) and Iraqi firm Amwaj International, with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation having helped structure the deal. On 14 June 2026 new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi cancelled the contract, citing corruption concerns; a Reuters exclusive reported that an internal audit had found 'widespread tender manipulation, procedural anomalies, and structurally flawed contract clauses', while other outlets cited officials describing concerns over the tendering process and pricing. Al-Zaidi simultaneously cancelled a separate railway project and created a new Supreme Sovereign Council for Integrity, Oversight and Recovery of Public Funds to review major contracts signed under the prior administration. No individual official or executive was named as personally responsible, and no criminal referral is on record.